I took Darius out on a longer then normal walk today only 3 miles but it seemed to kill him! He dropped down on the grass 4 or 5 times! I felt bad for doing it but I didn't think he would be THAT tired he had been laying on the couch all morning!
So when we got to a park I tried to give him water from my hand from the drinking fountain but he didn't want to have anything to do with it.
I didn't really realize how far it was until we came back and I looked it up on google maps. I just walked to the association office to pay my bill and back!
So I realized I was not prepared for this walk I am wondering what you guys take with you if you go out hiking or on long walks? I needed water for me that I totally forgot! I think Darius needed water but didn't like it from the drinking fountain and my hand!
I got a few pick up bags for and accidents he might have but he didn't have any.
Are there any "power treats" I could have for him in case he needs a boost?

For me it depends on what what time of year and where I'm going hihing. During the summer away from a natural water source, I bring lots of water and a cooling vest. I don't like the dog hiking with the vest on because they are heavy. I'm usually caring a ruck so I carry it. When hiking in the area down the street, I don't bring much of anything. We're never too far from a natural water source for both drinking and cooling off.

Once beyond puppyhood, things are different. My dog is 2.5. When we go backpacking (and in the heat of summer and him packing his own supplies, pack usually around 10lbs for him), he carries two liters for himself. This is usually a 6-10 mile backpack with significant (4,000ft+ elevation gain). Often, creeks are dried up by then.

'Round home, we have a 4-5 mile hike we do all the time behind my house (1800ft gain first 2.5 miles, then back down to home). There is a creek, but I still bring a litre for he and I to share ( I carry a pack usually). Sometimes we drink it, sometimes not.

Once, we were on a grueling pack in, 88° end of July, the creeks were dry, the three of us (DH, dog and I) each had a liter for 11 miles with 6,000ft gain. We survived. If you can get water relatively soon, he'll be fine. (Keep hot summer temps in mind though) My pup did his first 4 mile RT hike when he was 4 1/2 months old.

-- the Hiking Backpack. This is an ancient, beaten-up, grubby old backpack that I've had since law school. The back pocket is fraying and held together with safety pins.

It is thoroughly filthy and disreputable and the dogs love it because they know what that gross old backpack means: that we're going to be going out! hiking! somewhere long enough that I expect I'll have to haul around their dirty poop bags. Which is, of course, why the trashiest available backpack has been designated the Hiking Backpack.

-- a bottle of water (or two) and a lightweight stainless steel bowl for the dogs to drink from.

-- poop bags. Sometimes the mutt monsters poop off the trail (yay!) and sometimes they don't. When they don't, the considerate thing to do is pick it up, so pick it up I do. And then I put the bags in the back pocket of the Hiking Backpack and carry them out of there.

Leaving poop is bad manners, unsanitary, and causes enraged non-dog people to lobby to keep dogs out of hiking areas, so if my guys poop within about 30' of the trail I will go get it and carry it home.

-- band-aids for me. I really should make a doggy first aid kit (and here: Be Prepared: A Tiny First Aid Kit for Hiking With Dogs | Team Unruly is an excellent blog post about how to make a tiny, efficient one that will fit inside a pill bottle, plus extra tips on hiking with dogs) but I just haven't mustered up the wherewithal to get around to that yet.

-- a camera, because I always want to take pictures.

-- treats, in case the dogs get hungry or I want to do an impromptu training/recall session on the road.

-- when appropriate (read: I'm not driving home and it's an easy hike), a bottle of pre-mixed vodka sours for me, because I'm a big responsible grown-up now and that means I can get a nice buzz going while I'm hiking with my idiot dogs.

Oh, you can get some great folding bowls too. I had the most awesome one from Outward Hound-- I could folded up small enough to fit in my backpack front waist belt pocket. It got carried off by a critter last summer but I plan on ordering a new one. For now I'm using the waterproof fabric pot that came with my backpacking cookware.

I carry a backpack which has poop bags, water for both me and the dogs, treats, a extra leash for each dog, baby wipes (for those...disgusting incidents you never want to have to face with no preparation), a few toys, a knife, camera, cell phone, keys, and probably a few bits and bobs I can't think of off the top of my head.

This pup is young so not so much. But I normally carry a small first aid kit, extra water (The Go DOggy drink is good) and before we leave, Beau is expected to drink some water which is "spiced up" with some small dog treats (it really encourages him to drink). AND I carry a couple instant cold packs. Since he actually works in the heat it can get hot and I have used them on him when we were on a ridge and no water was around for him to cool off in.

What you carry depends on where you're going, what kind of "hike", what you will face on the hike. What kind of animals might you encounter? For me, I might see cougar, bear, coyotes, deer, elk, moose, turkey, bobcat. The list goes on. I've encountered all of those. Your preparation will depend on you. But at the bare minimum I would take a rain shell, a little bit of food and some sort of spray.

But if you're just going on a hike in a city park, then you might have different issues, more suburban based. Plus, how long do you expect to be out? I have 4 different packs, for different lengths and different places.

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